عنوان

Making history in the Pacific :

Number

TL3z92x5rr

.Language of Text, Soundtrack etc

انگلیسی

Title Proper

Making history in the Pacific :

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[Thesis]

First Statement of Responsibility

Antón, Charis Kokoro

Title Proper by Another Author

pivotal debates on identity formation and the construction of the past

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UC San Diego

Date of Publication, Distribution, etc.

2008

Body granting the degree

UC San Diego

Text preceding or following the note

2008

Text of Note

This paper critically analyzes three debates that have developed within recent literature on the Pacific. These debates reflect an evolving conceptualization of the culture, history, and traditions of the Pacific region and usefully draw our attention to the complex politics of representation. Furthermore, these debates represent pivotal moments in the discursive legacy of Oceania and signify important conjunctures where scholars have dictated the terms upon which the region has been historically evaluated. The first section of this paper focuses on the notion of myth as a conceptual category, employed as a form of discourse with the power to create social reality. Throughout each debate, myth emerges as a highly influential and contested form of historical legitimization in which relations of power and subjectification are also implicated. This discussion draws attention to the analytical structures that these meanings have come to produce. Also discussed is the extent to which such uses of myth are indicative of the perspective or position of the author. The second section of this paper investigates the power of positionality as an influential component of each author's rationale. Following Mannheim, it is argued that the author's perspective is necessarily guided by his or her angle of vision and that the construction of history is a product of particular social positions. Through the development of this discussion it becomes apparent that one's inclusion within, or exclusion from, an intellectual or cultural community determines the kinds of claims that one can make regarding the history of others

Antón, Charis Kokoro

UC San Diego

Electronic name

p

[Thesis]

276903

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